Category Archives: Pasta

This variation on halusky, an eastern European comfort dish, is a delicious fall (or winter) dish. You can make this quicker by cooking on higher heat, but I think the slower cooking brings out the sweetness and makes it that much yummier! It’s very easy, though, and requires little attention. Typically this dish is made with egg noodles (which obviously aren’t plant-based!) so I used some brown rice fettuccine which has a similar feel in your mouth.

3 Tbsp Earth Balance (I avoid cooking with oil or Earth Balance, but was flexible tonight for some authenticity; it’s a lot less butter/oil than would normally be in it, at least!)

At some point while the cabbage is cooking , start a pot of boiling water for the pasta and cook pasta according to package directions!

In a soup pot, melt Earth Balance over medium heat. Add onions and cook for 10 – 15 minutes, stirring occasionally and reducing temperature if they start to brown on the bottom. Add cabbage and cover and cook another 25 minutes or even more, stirring every now and then, until everything is very soft. Add seasoning and peas. Mix the cabbage mixture with the drained pasta (which I ran under cold water as the package suggested) and serve.

An interesting alternative to a standard pesto – delicious on pasta with grilled veggies or however you’d like!

1 bunch kale, stems removed

2 clove garlic

3/4 cup hemp seeds

4 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 lb pasta

2 zucchini

1 lb tomatoes

small drizzle olive oil

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp thyme

fresh ground black pepper

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

Preheat grill.

In a food processor, combine first list of ingredients and puree.

Prepare pasta according to package instructions.

Prepare veggies for grilling – I cut zucchini in quarters lengthwise and skewered grape tomatoes. Top with a bit of olive oil and the spices and lemon juice from the third list. Grill on medium until done to your liking.

This was fantastic! So so so good! We didn’t end up having much leftovers because we just kept wanting more. Good thing it’s super healthy for you. I love when I make something up that works out fantastic the first time. (I was inspired by a plethora of cauliflower alfredos on the internet and made up my own.)

1 – 2 cups unsweetened non-dairy milk, like almond (**The milk gives it creaminess, but I think in large quantities it gives too much of an almond milk taste. I’m wondering if coconut milk might taste better here. Next time I will use 1 cup almond milk and the rest water.)

We got home from vacation (hence the fact that things have been rather quiet on the blog the last couple of weeks) and had to piece together some dinner with stuff from our garden and pantry and this is what I made up. I want this to be less of a recipe, however, and more of an inspirations to make up your own pasta dishes! It’s a lot like a cheater version of the last pasta dish I posted.

1 1/4 cups cooked/canned lentils (or 1/2 cup dry, then cooked)

3/4 cups raw walnuts, roughly chopped

1 lb string beans (ours were green and yellow from the garden), ends removed and cut into bite size pieces

1 jar pasta sauce (I love the Muir Glen Tomato Basil)

10 oz pasta

Optional – fresh basil (our basil plants aren’t doing so well, so I didn’t add this, but it would have been nice!)

Toast walnuts in a dry pan, toaster, or oven at 300 degrees until starting to brown.

Ok, so this very random pasta recipe caught my eye and I decided to give it a try, after some modifications of course! 🙂

This dish was excellent, particularly given the strange combination of ingredients and how simple it is. We served it with a side green salad and it was a very filling meal. The walnuts and lentils give the pasta dish some “meatiness.” Be ready for the crunch of the walnuts, otherwise it may catch you off guard.

If you need to cook the lentils ahead of time, it’s not as quick, but feel free to cook them the night before or earlier in the day so that they are ready when it’s time to make dinner.

9 oz of whole wheat pasta of your choice, prepared according to package

While pasta is cooking, “dry toast” the walnuts in a pan with nothing else in it on medium heat until the walnut brown a bit, tossing every now and then. Add the salsa, EVOO, nutritional yeast, ketchup, garlic powder, black pepper, and red pepper. Cook on medium for just under 10 minutes, stirring regularly. Add lentils and spinach. Cover and cook until spinach is wilted. Add fresh basil. Toss over drained pasta. Season additionally as needed. I didn’t feel like it needed any salt added with plenty of salt from the salsa and ketchup.

I was inspired by this recipe, but I tweaked it to my liking. And it was GOOD. Super good! Very excited about this one and looking forward to having it again.

8 oz whole wheat pasta of your choice

6 cloves garlic, minced

2 small or 1 large zucchini, cut in half lengthwise and then cut in 1/4″ slices

2 – 3 Tbsp tomato paste

3 plum tomatoes

1 cup cashews, soaked ahead of time in hot water if possible

1 cup warm water

1/3 cup red wine

1 tsp salt

ground black pepper

1 cup loosely packed basil

Cook pasta per package instructions. Saute garlic in a bit of olive oil, water or broth. After a few minutes add zucchini.

In a blender, combine tomato paste, tomatoes, cashews, water and wine. Puree until smooth. Pour into zucchini saute pan and simmer, covered, until zucchini is tender. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Pour over drained pasta and add basil. Stir and serve immediately.